The Yellow River
The Yellow River is a major river in northern China and the second-longest river in the country with a total length of 5,464 kilometers. It originates from the Bayan Har Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, flows through the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Loess Plateau, and the North China Plain, and finally empties into the Bohai Sea. The river's name derives from the yellowish color of its water caused by the massive amount of sediment carried from the Loess Plateau in its middle reaches.
The Yellow River is a crucial element of Chinese civilization and the foundation of the Chinese nation. The Yellow River basin is one of the main cradles of Chinese civilization, containing numerous Neolithic cultural sites, such as Lantian, Banpo, and Longshan. Over 6,000 years ago, agriculture began in the Yellow River basin, and clans and tribes began to form over 4,000 years ago, with the tribes led by Yandi Emperor and Yellow Emperor being the most dominant. They later merged with other tribes to form the "Huaxia tribe", which was the precursor to the Chinese nation.
For over 3,000 years of China's 5,000-year civilization, the Yellow River basin was the epicenter of ancient China's politics, economy, culture, and technology. It was home to ancient capitals such as Zhengzhou, Xi'an, Luoyang, Kaifeng, and Anyang and is abundant in historical heritage and cultural landscapes. Thus, the Yellow River has become a cultural conduit that connects the east and west of China and the rest of the Eurasian continent. It continues to hold a significant position even today.
Agrarian development in the Yellow River basin nurtured regional cultural traditions and promoted cross-cultural exchanges and integration in areas such as literature, art, as- tronomy, law, technology, architecture, language, and customs. This laid the groundwork for the multi-ethnic integration of the Chinese nation. As a result, the Yellow River is also known as the "Mother River" of the Chinese nation.
Historically, the Yellow River often caused significant damage. Severe flooding occurred from time to time, affecting people's lives and livelihoods. In response, the Communist Party of China established the Yellow River Conservancy Commission for Hebei-Shandong-Henan Liberation Area in 1946. Unrelenting efforts to tame flooding have continued over the past 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and significant progress has been made in managing and protecting the Yellow River, successfully preventing severe flooding from occurring during flood seasons.
黃河
黃河是中國北方地區的大河，中國第二長河，干流全長5464千米。黃河發源于青藏高原巴顏喀拉山，流經青藏高原、黃土高原和華北平原，最后注入渤海。因中段流經黃土高原地區夾帶大量泥沙而呈黃色河水，故稱“黃河”。
黃河文化是中華文明的重要組成部分，是中華民族的根和魂。黃河流域是中華文明的主要發源地之一，分布有藍田文化、半坡文化、龍山文化等大量新石器文化遺址。早在6000多年前，黃河流域內已開始出現農業活動，4000多年前開始形成氏族部落，以炎帝、黃帝兩大部族最為強大，后融合其他部族，形成中華民族的前身“華夏族”。中華民族5000多年文明史上，黃河流域有3000多年處于古代中國政治、經濟、文化、科技中心，分布有鄭州、西安、洛陽、開封、安陽等古都，富集著大量歷史遺產和文化景觀，黃河也因此成為連通東西國土、溝通歐亞大陸的文化運河，至今仍然處于重要地位。黃河流域依托農耕文明誕育了地域性傳統文化，推動了文學藝術、天文立法、科技建筑、語言習俗等跨文化交流與融合，鑄就了中華民族多元一體的根基。黃河也因此被譽為中華民族的“母親河”。
歷史上，黃河水患嚴重，曾給人民生產生活造成了巨大困擾。從1946年中共領導成立冀魯豫解放區黃河水利委員會，到中華人民共和國成立70多年來的艱辛探索和不懈努力，黃河治理保護工作取得重大成就，創造了伏秋大汛歲歲安瀾的奇跡。
